Obsession

#68BGG8.1RATING

Updated Sep 11

1–4

PLAYERS

30–90

MINUTES

BEST WITH

3.1

HEAVY

Ask Mira about Obsession

ERRATA3

Passing turn order and the printed player aiddesignerpublisher
RULING
On a pass turn the correct order is: refresh service (all servants to Available Service), then check the round track, monuments and Servants' Hall, then reclaim the discard pile, then choose £200 or a market refresh, then shop, then clear the board. The player aid printed in the box shows "refresh service" after "reclaim deck", which is wrong: "This is an errata; it is a carryover from a previous rule set." A servant sent to gossip on a pass turn is therefore placed after the refresh, and ends the turn in Expended Service.
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(10 replies)DATE: 2020-10-25
The scorepad appears to score the Fairchild twicedesignerpublisher
RULING
A Fairchild card added to the gentry deck after the final courtship is scored once, in the Gentry Card category. The scorepad's "Courtship / VP Cards" line covers VP cards only. On the wording the designer said: "Yeah, that's a head-scratcher. Especially since you can acquire VP cards as a favour unrelated to Courtship. I will change that for future editions."
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(8 replies)DATE: 2022-01-05
The Builders' Market never has an empty spacedesignerpublisher
RULING
"At initial setup, all tiles placed in the market must be eligible (the 4 SERVICE tiles and tiles of Prestige Rating 1, 2, and 3). For a refresh, the market is filled (no open spaces) with all tiles that get drawn. In either instance, never leave open spaces. If there are duplicates, stack them and keep drawing until the market spaces are filled." Stacking a duplicate does not consume a market slot, so keep drawing until all six slots hold a tile. The designer confirmed the rulebook wording was ambiguous and was reworded for a later printing.
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(11 replies)DATE: 2022-02-06

DESIGNER CLARIFICATIONS12

Favours may be taken in any orderdesignerpublisher
CONTEXT
The rulebook presents Enjoy Favours as money, then reputation, then guest invitations and dismissals, which players read as a mandatory sequence.
RULING
"That has been dispensed with. It was an organizational rule only; there is no reason you can't take your favours in whatever order you like." The same answer was given as early as 2018: "Any order you like at all. Even the recommendation to do £, prestige, invites in that order is a housekeeping thing."
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(59 replies, 38 thumbs)DATE: 2025-09-01
Reputation keeps accumulating at Max, up to position 5designerpublisher
RULING
"Just as with all other levels, reputation is accumulated when you reach Max, up to position 5. And since Special Actions can be taken at any time, it is one of the most advanced and powerful tactics to continually use the 5 free Max reputation points for money, servants, and market refreshes late in the game." Reputation cannot advance past Max, position 5; because Special Actions may be taken at any moment in the turn, a player about to overflow should spend reputation first so none is wasted.
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(7 replies)DATE: 2022-01-10
Queen's Suite doubles one favour, Lionheart doubles alldesignerpublisher
RULING
Asked whether only the positive favours are doubled: "Yes, for the Queen's Suite; one favour (choice of the player) is doubled. No, for the Lionheart Suite; all favours are doubled." The Queen's Suite therefore doubles a single favour of the invited prestige guest, chosen by the player, not the guest's whole favour line.
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(15 replies)DATE: 2022-02-06
Doubling a guest's favours doubles the bad ones toodesignerpublisher
RULING
Asked whether doubling applies to money or reputation penalties: "It doubles everything (all favours, good or bad)."
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(5 replies)DATE: 2024-11-12
When tiles are sorted by Tile Sorting Numberdesignerpublisher
RULING
"The ONLY time you sort by tile sorting number (TSN) is: 1. Initial population 2. A market refresh 3. If more than one space needs to be refilled (i.e., Builders' Holiday, VP card that permits multiple purchases). Never resort market tiles that are sitting in the market." In a later reply he confirmed that a reserve activation which empties more than one slot also counts as case 3: "Any time there is more than one spot to fill, the incoming tiles are sorted."
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(14 replies)DATE: 2020-09-08
Only the Special Action market refresh is once per turndesignerpublisher
CONTEXT
The rulebook points the passing benefit at the Special Actions description, which reads as though the once-per-turn limit applies to every refresh.
RULING
"Refreshing the builders' market AS A SPECIAL ACTION is limited to once per turn. A special action refers to trading away your reputation. That can be done once. The PASSING TURN benefit is... a FREE ACTION not a special action (since you do not trade away your reputation)." Refreshes granted by VP cards are likewise free actions, so several refreshes may occur in one turn. Each refresh is resolved completely before the next begins: remove the market tiles and set them aside, refill in TSN order (stacking duplicates and stocking the reserves), then return the removed tiles to the bag — so a tile removed in one refresh can reappear in a later one.
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(3 replies, 6 thumbs)DATE: 2025-01-06
Monuments count toward courtship theme totalsdesignerpublisher
RULING
"Officially, they do count. Thematically, they should... what could be more impressive to a Fairchild who loves a certain theme than to see a crowning capital improvement in that theme? Tactically, they also represent the most valuable tool for a trailing player to close a gap and steal a final courtship. Excluding them is a variant I will not endorse."
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(5 replies, 7 thumbs)DATE: 2019-03-11
The Largest Wine Cellar never enters the Service Tile Reservedesignerpublisher
RULING
"The Wine Cellar is not moved to the reserve ever. It is a Monument in the SERVICE category, not a SERVICE tile that empowers staff." It stays in the Builders' Market like any other monument. The designer gave the opposite answer years earlier and explicitly corrected himself here.
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(59 replies, 38 thumbs)DATE: 2025-07-12
Suites that convert to monuments go in the bag at setupdesignerpublisher
RULING
"Tiles that convert from an activity to a monument receive no special treatment and all go in the bag at setup. Only monuments on both sides have a specific setup step." The Queen's, Lionheart and Heritage Guest Suites are therefore shuffled into the tile bag; only the true double-sided monuments are set aside and added by player count.
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(59 replies, 38 thumbs)DATE: 2025-07-14
No tile offers a choice between favoursdesignerpublisher
CONTEXT
Tiles such as the Fenced Paddock and the West Terrace list several favours together, which players read as "choose one".
RULING
"No tile grants an 'OR' favour. If the favour is listed, it is available to you." Every listed favour is taken, with dismissal the only exception, and dismissal may also be used partially — a tile offering four dismissals may dismiss fewer: "The use of 'may' implies partial use." Invitations cannot be declined: "the default play is that invitations are not optional as it would be impolite to withdraw an invitation."
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(14 replies, 5 thumbs)DATE: 2018-09-16
Servants for Hire is never replenisheddesignerpublisher
RULING
"Servants are limited to the initial group placed at the beginning of the game." Once the supply set out during setup is hired away, the only remaining source of new servants is recruiting from another player's estate.
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(3 replies)DATE: 2020-09-13
Your active hand is not public informationdesignerpublisher
RULING
Asked whether the rule about showing drawn cards makes the hand permanently public: "No... you don't have to do more than show the guest to everyone at the table." Newly acquired guests must be revealed as they are drawn, but the hand itself may be kept concealed afterwards. The fully open gentry information on Board Game Arena is an adaptation compromise, not the physical rule. The designer noted he personally plays with his hand face-up.
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(7 replies)DATE: 2023-03-06

Q&A12

Must a family member attend every activity?designerpublisher
QUESTION
An activity requires three gentry. May a player satisfy it entirely with guests and no family member, or entirely with family and no guests?
ANSWER
Either is legal. Any combination of gentry that meets the tile's stated number and type works. Family presence is never a requirement: "Family are always present. If they are invited to a particular activity, they have a special, intimate connection or friendship... If no family are at the activity, they are still around."
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(8 replies)DATE: 2022-09-24
Do Fairchild cards count as prestige guests for objectives?designerpublisher
QUESTION
Does a Fairchild card won in the final courtship count toward an objective card such as "1 VP for each prestige guest"?
ANSWER
Yes: "The two fleur-de-lis on the card classify them as a prestige guest." But only once a Fairchild has entered the gentry deck after the final courtship — "Charles and Elizabeth do NOT count for any milestone during the game when they are temporarily in hand." Family cards, by contrast, never count as prestige guests: "While I would always slot the family in the Prestige category, they are their own separate entity as it relates to game mechanics."
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(8 replies, 4 thumbs)DATE: 2022-02-01
Do guests in the discard pile score at the end of the game?designerpublisher
QUESTION
A guest attended an activity and is sitting in the discard pile at game end, never having been reclaimed by a pass. Does that guest still score?
ANSWER
Yes. The whole gentry deck scores, active hand and discard pile alike: "If counting the value [of] your connections (guests VP) what sense would it make to exclude a guest who had visited more recently than a guest who visited earlier?... your hand represents your Victorian rolodex."
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(4 replies, 7 thumbs)DATE: 2024-12-04
Can the same tiles and servants satisfy several objective cards?designerpublisher
QUESTION
If one objective needs two lady's maids and two valets and another needs ten servants, do the first four count toward both?
ANSWER
Yes. "'Resources' are not used up! You can fulfill as many objectives using the same tiles/servants as you like."
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(3 replies, 3 thumbs)DATE: 2020-08-22
Are objective card quantities exact or minimums?designerpublisher
QUESTION
An objective reads "three of each category of improvement tile required". Does holding four of one category break it?
ANSWER
No — stated quantities are minimums. Four of a category also satisfies "three", and the objective scores. The designer confirmed this reading and noted the wording would be clarified in the next printing.
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(3 replies, 2 thumbs)DATE: 2020-10-30
Where do discarded objective cards go?designerpublisher
QUESTION
With 30 objective cards, a four-player game deals and draws more than the deck holds. What happens to the cards discarded after each courtship?
ANSWER
They go to the bottom of the objective deck and are reused. The designer confirmed the rule exists but was printed in the Upstairs, Downstairs rulebook rather than the base rulebook: "when you're simultaneously writing/editing two rulebooks, a rule gets in one that is need in the other." A practical method he recommends is for all players to discard into a common pile, shuffle it, and place it under the deck.
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(4 replies, 2 thumbs)DATE: 2020-09-13
What happens when a guest deck runs out?designerpublisher
QUESTION
The prestige guest deck is exhausted and a favour calls for drawing one. Is the deck reshuffled or replenished?
ANSWER
No. The favour is simply lost: "When they run out, there are no more, and it is advised to not host events or guests that have that as a favour (unless they have more than one favour and you like the 2nd)." The same applies to the casual guest deck; the finite gentry pool is intentional.
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(5 replies, 4 thumbs)DATE: 2023-03-24
Which servants can the Service Help special action refresh?designerpublisher
QUESTION
Does paying 3 reputation to refresh a servant only move one from the Servants' Quarters, or can it also pull one out of Expended Service?
ANSWER
Either. "A servant is either unavailable (expended) or available... servants are unavailable in both expended service and the servants' quarters, so the refresh action moves either one to Available Service." A servant already placed on the current activity cannot be refreshed and reused.
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(15 replies, 4 thumbs)DATE: 2024-03-01
Who chooses the servant when recruiting from another estate?designerpublisher
QUESTION
When the flipped Butler's Room recruits a servant from an opponent, does the recruiting player pick the specific meeple, and can it be one that is not in the target's Available Service?
ANSWER
The recruiting player chooses: "The player recruiting the servant from a nearby estate gets to choose no matter the distribution of servants." Any valet, lady's maid or footman may be taken from any location on the target's board — "Other players are not hosting activities on your turn, which is the only time you can recruit a servant away from another estate. Any valet, lady's maid, or footman in any location can be recruited."
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(11 replies, 2 thumbs)DATE: 2018-09-23
Can the Servants' Hall be used at maximum reputation?designerpublisher
QUESTION
With reputation already at Max, position 5, may a player still deploy a servant to gossip and reduce an opponent's reputation?
ANSWER
Yes. "It is not only possible, but highly endorsed... Mechanically, we do not 'cap' a player's reputation, we empower it." The opponent still loses reputation even if the gossiping player's own gain is absorbed at the ceiling.
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(8 replies, 5 thumbs)DATE: 2023-09-12
Does borrowed money ever have to be repaid?designerpublisher
QUESTION
The Borrow Pounds special action says "borrow". Must the money be paid back, and to whom?
ANSWER
No. The loan is from the bank and is paid for entirely in reputation: "In game mechanics, you pay for the loan in reputation. The thematic 'repayment of the loan to the bank' happens outside the margins of the gameplay."
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(12 replies, 5 thumbs)DATE: 2025-10-20
Do monuments have a prestige rating of 7?designerpublisher
QUESTION
The rules describe monuments as having an effective prestige rating of 7. Does that mean a monument does nothing until the owner reaches reputation 7?
ANSWER
No. That figure exists only to keep monuments out of the initial market population. "Because the monument is never played onto the player board, it does not have a Prestige Rating... It is effective from the moment it is purchased."
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(11 replies, 2 thumbs)DATE: 2020-07-06

EDGE CASES6

Dismissing a guest does not avoid their negative favoursdesignerpublisher
SITUATION
A player hosts an activity that grants a dismissal, and wants to dismiss a guest who was at that activity before paying that guest's money or reputation penalty.
RULING
The penalty is still paid. Favours are resolved first and dismissal comes afterwards: "If they have negative favours, you take those favours as well." Dismissal removes the guest from the deck for future turns and for end-game scoring, but never cancels the favours of the activity just hosted.
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(4 replies, 4 thumbs)DATE: 2026-01-23
Category objectives count only tiles of that categorydesignerpublisher
SITUATION
An objective card scores 1 VP per Essentials tile and adds "including monument & hybrid tiles". A player holds a Queen's Suite flipped to its monument side, which is not an Essentials tile.
RULING
It does not count. The "including monument & hybrid tiles" wording exists so players know a monument or hybrid **of that category** still counts, not to admit monuments of every colour: "That objective card is for only tiles that are brown (have Essentials at the bottom)."
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(5 replies)DATE: 2020-09-07
Tile backs may be inspected before purchasedesignerpublisher
SITUATION
A player wants to look at the reverse of a tile in the Builders' Market before spending money on it.
RULING
Tile backs are open information. The designer also published the VP pattern each category follows, relative to that tile's prestige rating (PR): "ESSENTIALS: Front VP is 0, Back VP is = Prestige Rating (PR). SERVICE: Worth 1 VP (Barn is worth 2 VP). ESTATE: Front VP is 2 less than the PR, Back VP is 1 more than the PR. PRESTIGE: Front VP is 1 less than the PR, Back VP is 2 more than the PR. SPORTING: Front VP is -1, Back VP is 1 more than the PR." He notes start tiles, hybrid tiles and promo tiles are exceptions.
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(8 replies, 8 thumbs)DATE: 2022-12-07
Solitaire: the dice modifier applies to the very next rolldesignerpublisher
SITUATION
The AI rolls a no-purchase or market-refresh result, and on the following turn rolls a low number. Does the penalty still apply, and what if it would push the result below 1?
RULING
"Yes, the -5 is applied to the next roll regardless of the value." It is not conditional on rolling another high number. If the subtraction would take the result to zero or below, "the lowest possible value is 1."
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(6 replies)DATE: 2018-12-02
Solitaire: buying one of a duplicate pair leaves the twindesignerpublisher
SITUATION
In a solitaire game two copies of a tile are stacked in the market and the solitaire player buys one. The rulebook only states that both copies are removed when the **AI** scavenges a duplicate.
RULING
The remaining copy stays in the market. Only an AI scavenge removes both: "It actually represents a nice little blocking 'win' for the solo player, as the AI causes no pain if it wastes a scavenge on that tile."
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(3 replies, 2 thumbs)DATE: 2020-08-28
Solitaire: a tie for the final courtshipdesignerpublisher
SITUATION
The solitaire player and the AI opponent tie on the final courtship. The multiplayer tiebreaker is highest reputation, but the AI does not track reputation.
RULING
The final courtship resolves as a normal tie: the solitaire player and the opponent each take a VP card and neither receives a Fairchild card. The separate rule that the solitaire player wins all ties applies only to the end-game score comparison, which happens after the final courtship.
AUTHOR: The Reeve (Dan Hallagan, designer + publisher)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(8 replies, 4 thumbs)DATE: 2022-08-29

Last researched: 2026-08-12

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